State pay raise inching forward

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A plan to do a more in-depth study of state employees’ pay has begun moving — slowly — in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Rep. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, introduced his resolution Feb. 8, to “reauthorize” last year’s Joint Interim Committee on State Employee Wages.

The proposal was assigned to the Workforce Development and Workplace Safety Committee on March 8 — the Wednesday before lawmakers left Jefferson City for their Spring Break.

So, no hearing has been scheduled on the resolution, yet.

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JCLifer 1 year, 2 months ago

The committee has been studying this for a year, and now they want another year to study it some more. A year ago Bernskoetter was quoted as saying they had all the information they needed.

So if the committee studies the salaries for another year, do they think they will learn any more that Missouri employees are paid lowest #50 in the nation?

gofish 1 year, 2 months ago

Here's a bone state employees...gnaw on that for another year. How does it taste? Just as dry and meaningless as the last.

him 1 year, 2 months ago

Unless they are actually willing to do something about it after the study. They study is a waste of time and money. What will they do with their findings? The result is all ready obvious. Missouri state workers are the lowest paid, no study needed for that. Find a way to give them pay increases to get them at the level where they should be. Here is how I would do it. Pass law to automatically give them 2% cost of living adjustment EVERY year before anything else the legislators do. Then fund whatever else needs funded. Then in the end if they find extra money give it to the state employees as another 4% raise on top of the cost of living adjustment. This is kind of the way it used to be 15 years ago.

JCcouponLuvr 1 year, 1 month ago

I am a state worker and I HATE the 2% increase proposal. It would be way more effective if they gave $1,000 or $2,000 across the board. I'm a "little guy". Most of us are lucky to break $22,000 a year. 2% for me is barely $20 a payday. That can't even buy my family the basic needs groceries (milk, bread, eggs, package of meat and cheese and the gas to drive to the store - there ya go $20 spent) and barely gets me back and forth to work for a week. Plus, REMEMBER the high paid workers that are already making $80,000+ a year are going to get that 2% too! 2% has way more of a meaning for them than me, but $1000 across the board has way more meaning to me than it does them and us "little guys" are the ones truly effected by this LOWEST paid statistic. On a side note: I also don't see how it makes sense to cut three of us "little people" than reduce the salaries of the "big guys". How do they sleep at night knowing some kid is going hungry because they fired their mom a month ago while they have their 3 course dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse with a bottle of wine, etc. etc.? When they all could take a $5,000 a year pay cut and STILL NOT FEEL A THING, still go out to eat for every meal, still drive their BMW's, still have it all AND MOST IMPORTANTLY save a family or two!. SICKENING. Heartbreaking. Terrible.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 2 months ago

This is a clumsy article that sounds dishonest. I doubt that was the plan, but could we try to speak plain English here? Editor, please? A plan to extend a committee to study state employees' pay is nothing like a pay raise for state employees.

JCLifer 1 year, 2 months ago

The print article says Bernskoetter wants the committee to have TWO MORE YEARS to study they pay issues. Are they trying to bury the problem in red tape or until they are gone from office?

Seriously, what is there to study?

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 2 months ago

JCLifer,

I am reduced to telling dirty jokes about things like this. In another article on this topic OA is noted as saying that Missouri came in 50 out of 50 in five of six studies. From the get-go, there have been committee members that wanted to study the situation more to see if there were perhaps categories in which Missouri employees were above that dead last spot among the states. That's why they need more time - they hope to find another study that tells them something they would rather hear than "fifty out of fifty". They would also rather talk about "fixing" the supposed complexity of the Missouri personnel system than fixing the pay problem.

On to the dirty joke - these guys are like the (pick your nationality) gentleman whose wife had twins. He was so angry, he asked a couple of his buddies to help him track down the other father.

JCLifer 1 year, 2 months ago

The silence of the local Tranformation supporters is deafening. A considerable bump in pay of the region's latgest workforce would brnefit the local economy more than the transformation tax ever could have. Imagine all the houses, cars, furniture, appliances, clothing, jewelry, vacations and local services that would be purchased if these workers had some disposable income. They might eben support a tax invrease if they didnt have to struggle just to put food on the table and gasoline in the tank.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 2 months ago

Those darned state employees must not be the kind opf young professionals the Chamber of Commerce types say they are so keen on attracting. Maybe they don't want to know about the education requirements for most state jobs. Maybe they have shown themselves to be posers or worse.

JCLifer 1 year, 2 months ago

Wonder how the average education of the state worker young professional compares to the average education of the chamber's young professional? That is a very good question and could explain the chamber's perseverating plan of loading the uptown area up with bars and having trolly cars to transport the drunks from bar to bar.

viktorkowski 1 year, 2 months ago

meh I never really believed it was about attracting "young professionals" in the first place. I think it was more of a code word for attracting more whites. If you look at the latest stats for jefferson city you see it is becoming a multicultural diverse community and I think this has worried the city. hence for code words like attracting "young professionals" to jefferson city to sway numbers back the other way. sound too crazy? just a thought.

spelchek 1 year, 2 months ago

No worries, your conspiracy theory is countered by affirmative action and diversity training (aka "I See Black People"). Not all white people are inherently racist as you see them (you might be suffering from white guilt). Besides, your point is moot until "young professional" pay is offered by the State in JC (not just to cronies). The State needs to then back the pay up with ending the practice of nepotism and letting high school grads into white collar jobs requiring higher education.

JCsleeper 1 year, 2 months ago

More study - more lip service. 50 out of 50. Beatin' a dead horse. Wonder what Dashtaki is doing these days. Election is in November.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 2 months ago

I wonder what the leaders of the Missouri General Assembly are doing - besides putting a sculpted head of talking head Rush Limbaugh into the Hall of Famous Missourians. I guess we are not supposed to bother them with trivial things like state employees pay.

gofish 1 year, 2 months ago

If you build it, "they" will come.

spelchek 1 year, 2 months ago

insanity: doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 2 months ago

politics: the art of studying something until your term of office is finished so you don't have to actually do something about it.

spelchek 1 year, 2 months ago

I would like to see a story highlighting Mr. Nixon's staff / legislatures pay increases since 2009.

spelchek 1 year, 2 months ago

The Accountability Portal, I know. But exposure to hypocrisy republican and democrat is what I'm looking for. I know how to find the results; however, I do not own a medium to display said results for all to see. I don't remember ever seeing a break down of salary increases per legislature / governor staff vs. rank and file. Times are tough, even the representatives should be representing, otherwise, hit the bricks.

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